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s we mourn the Beis Hamikdash destroyed because of sinas chinam it is appropriate to consider the opposite of that grave sin the mitzvah of v’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha which Rabi Akiva describes as the “great principle of the Torah.” Why is this mitzvah of such unique importance?
The Alshich writes that when Jews are united in this world there is unity in the Upper Realms. That unity reflecting Hashem’s essence is the goal of Creation. The unity of the Jewish People was the condition for the revelation at Sinai of Torah the blueprint for Creation.
The basis for Jewish unity is the existence of a collective Jewish soul. Love of our fellow Jews grows from recognition of our roots in that common collective soul. Thus Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz considered his entry ticket to Gan Eden to be that “I loved every single Jew” observant or nonobservant.
Ahavas Yisrael minimally requires that we worry about the wellbeing of every single Jew. The many tefillos added wheneverIsraelis at war are one manifestation. Beyond that we are required to do everything we can to ensure the physical wellbeing and security of our fellow Jews. The vast and varied number of chareidi chesed organizations especially in the health field attest to that commitment.
